In Applicant's application Ser. No. 201,544 which is a division of Application Ser. No. 21,115 filed Mar. 16, 1979, now abandoned, an atomic fusion process is disclosed wherein two oppositely directed streams of ions are forced to follow the same helical paths in the same reaction zone for promoting fusion producing collisions between particles of one stream and particles of the other stream. By way of example, the streams may comprise deuterium and helium 3 ions, respectively.
The reaction zone comprises an annulus between an inner cylindrical electrode and an outer cylindrical electrode between which a radial electric field is established to control and maintain the streams in the helical path.
In such system, a pair of high density beams of ions is produced so that the likelihood of fusion producing collisions is enhanced relative to non-directed systems. The present invention is directed toward further enhancing the probability of such reactions. Use of ions traveling in opposite directions in essentially the same helical paths contrasts with other systems designed in attempts to achieve nuclear fusion reactions in which the particle travel and orientation are characterized as being random. By the present invention, this probability is enhanced by control of ion spin orientation.